Still Human Still Here
Still Human Still Here is a coalition of more than 40 organisations that are campaigning to end the destitution of thousands of refused asylum seekers in the UK. STAR has been supporting the campaign for several years.
The coalition believes that the current policy is inhumane and ineffective and is urging the Government to:
- Provide asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute with sufficient support so that they can meet their essential living needs until they are returned to their country of origin or are given permission to stay in the UK
- Provide free access to healthcare for all asylum seekers while they are in the UK
- Grant asylum seekers permission to work if their case has not been resolved within six months or they have been refused, but temporarily cannot be returned through no fault of their own
- Improve decision making and ensure that all those in need of protection receive it.
What can you do?
- Be part of Action Week 2012!: Join 34 student groups across 26 cities between February 20th- 26th to take action against destitution If you are in London you can take part in the London STAR sleepout on Thursday 23rd February in Covent Garden, see below for more details.
- E-mail your MP to ask them to support permission to work for asylum seekers
- Write to your MP and raise your concern about the tens of thousands of people who are being left without any support at all or forced to live on vouchers worth £35 a week. Stress that providing the cash support under Section 95 (worth 50% of Income Support) to all those claiming asylum from arrival until they are given refugee status or leave the UK would ensure that thousands of people are not forced into poverty.
London STAR sleepout 2012
The London STAR sleepout will take place on Thursday 23rd February in Covent Garden, so come along and support us. If you would like to sleepout please complete and return this registration_form by 5pm Tuesday 21st February.
Campaign resources
- Download a briefing on destitute asylum seekers.
- Download guides on organising a Sleepout to raise awareness and winning the argument.
Information
For further information visit Still Human Still Here or have a look at these reports:
- British Red Cross, ‘Not gone, but forgotten’, June 2010
- The Children’s Society, ‘Destitution amongst asylum-seeking and refugee children’, May 2010
- Still Human Still Here, ‘At the end of the line’, February 2010
- The Asylum Support Partnership, May 2009 The Second Destitution Tally
- Amnesty International, November 2006 Down and Out in London
- Refugee Action, October 2006 The Destitution Trap
What did STAR do to support Still Human Still Here in 2011?
For Action Week 2011, STAR teamed up with Amnesty International UK to hold mass sleepouts nationwide to raise awareness about the destitution of refused asylum seekers. From 21st to 27th February 2011, hundreds of STAR members slept outside for a night!
Videos: Cardiff & London Sleepouts
Still Human Still Here from Simon Bartlett on Vimeo.
On the 25th of February, a group of people braved the wind and the rain, to sleep out in Cardiff in order to show solidarity with the plight of asylum seekers.
Sleepout 2011 from Amnesty International on Vimeo.
Covent Garden, London: On a cold February night more than 50 students slept out to call for asylum seekers to be given the right to work.
